Blue Moon
by Tekiri
Summary: Leo finds something you might not expect in Bunker 9 while looking for some parts for the Argo II. Oneshot. NOT a songfic. 'This is one of my favorite songs, mijo. I hope you can play it with me some day.'


**Hey! *waves* Typed this up yesterday and edited it today! I hope you like it!**

**Inspired by the song **_Blue_ _Moon_**.**

**The link for the song should be on my profile.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song **_Blue Moon_**, **_Post-It!_**, and the **_PJO/HOO characters_**.**

* * *

Leo walked around Bunker Nine, looking for some parts for the Argo II that his tool belt wouldn't supply. He whistled while scanning the shelves, and bumped into something.

Leo stopped whistling and backed up. He then inspected the object. The obstacle was stable to lean on, and was covered in a long cloth that smelled like mothballs and grease.

He looked around, and the hallway suddenly seemed much more dimmer and abandoned then he originally thought.

_Well, it's now or never._

He yanked off the cloth with a big _whoosh_ of wind following behind the action. His eyes widened at his discovery.

The object would not be something that the usual demigod would stumble upon in a forge. It would be usually found in the Apollo cabin, and maybe the attic.

It was a piano. A beautiful piano in Leo's mind, as it had detailed carvings of nymphs by the feet and vines swirling up the legs. A group of satyr (Herd? Flock?) seemed to dance to the middle one's song on the top surface.

Leo's right hand found its way across the varnished, detailed, dusty wood. His fingertip daintily touched the keys, as if one touch would turn the instrument to dust.

Leo hesitantly slid in the bench, and played the chromatic scale.

All the keys were in tune.

He frowned. The keys shouldn't be in tune after all those years of gathering dust.

Leo placed his hands in the playing position, and then abruptly stood up. He was getting distracted. He needed to find more parts for the Argo II, and attach them to the ship.

But as he walked only two steps away, the piano seemed to mock him. Most things were magical in the bunker, and if you didn't claim it, it was just whisked away.

So a reluctant Leo sat back down on the bench.

Leo didn't know many songs. The songs he learned from the free piano lessons every week with an old next door neighbor were forgotten. He only remembered one song that was not the chromatic scale. And he didn't even learn the song that he wanted to play now from Mr. Millon, the pianist who died only a year after the lessons started.

He positioned his hands over the keys, and began to play the chords of Blue Moon.

_Tap, tap, tap._

He played the chords over and over, as if waiting for someone else to slide over with him and play the melody. Leo closed his eyes, and relaxed.

Leo watched his mother close the shop when the night settled in, and smile at Leo. She held his hand as they walked through the shop and into the house.

In the house, she pulled out a rectangular object from a shelf and plugged the chord in a socket close by. She set the electric keyboard on the table and smiled at Leo, who was sitting on the floor.

Then, after tossing his hair, she began to play. She played the melody of Blue Moon, hummed the chords, and relaxed after a long days work.

She gave a soft smile to her child when she finished playing. "This is one of my favorite songs, _mijo_. I hope you can play it with me when your older."

Then she picked him up and placed him on the bench.

"Music is not only entertainment, but a tool. You could use music to express your feelings to others without speaking. I hope you remember that someday, my lion. The softest sound can sometimes be the one with the most impact."

She tossed his hair one more time, and then the memory faded away.

The room was now dark and Leo had stopped playing the music. He started playing again, hoping to ease his discomfort, but all the notes seemed out of tune. He frowned and smacked the piano violently in frustration. Leo buried his face in his arms, which were resting on the piano.

Why did he have to ruin everything he touched?! The song was one of his only links to his mother! Now that the piano became seemingly out-of-tune, Leo didn't know which god to curse.

"Who made it out of tune?!" Leo yelled suddenly and stood up. "Who? Apollo? Aphrodite? Maybe even Hades, for crying out loud."

"That was one of my only connections to Mom," Leo hissed. A tear streamed down his cheek, and he sat down and curled rested his elbows on the keys. He cried, his head in his hands, and slowly rested his face on the keyboard like a pillow.

Leo didn't notice a lot of things while he was falling asleep. He didn't notice that the door let some light flood in the warehouse for a brief second, or the footsteps echoing through the hall. He didn't even notice a hand on his shoulder, or a soft voice saying, "Are you alright?"

* * *

Leo woke up to the melody of Blue Moon. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Piper sat by him on the bench, decked out in battle armor, and played the melody. The window close by (Leo didn't notice it until now; Piper probably opened it) bathed the section of the hallway in moonlight.

"Hey Pipes," Leo said, with a fake, cheerful grin that he knew wouldn't cover up his tear-staned face. "Welcome my humble abode. What brings you here?"

Piper jumped, not realizing he was awake, and then hesitated with her answer. "Jason and I were by the bunker for Capture the Flag, and we heard part of Blue Moon, a yell, and then nothing. Jason wanted to come with me to check it out, but Annabeth assigned him offence." She shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal. "When she was out of sight, I crept in to see if you were okay." Piper glanced around the room, and Leo could see her unease in her eyes. "You know the rest from there."

Leo nodded, and they lapsed into an uncomfortable silence.

After a few moments, Leo cleared his throat.

"So..." He started, "where did you learn how to play the song?"

Piper shifted in her seat. "My dad taught me how to during Christmas."

"Oh. I didn't know that Tristan McLean knew how to play the piano."

"Yeah."

A relapse of awkward silence.

This time Piper was the one who spoke. "Could you... play with me?"

"What?"

Piper blushed. "It's just that I wanted to play for a long time, but didn't get the chance. Plus, the song is addicting. So... Please?"

Leo blinked in shock, then sent a kind smile, not a grin, to her. "Whatever you say, Beauty Queen."

She punched him in the arm, and then returned the smile. Leo gave her a Chehire cat grin, and then said, "Don't I start?"

* * *

Leo and Piper relaxed in the wooden bench after their song. "Thanks Pipes. I needed that."

Piper smiled. "You're welcome. I think I needed it too."

After a few seconds, a voice interrupted the peace. "Leo, man, are you making a move on my girlfriend?"

Piper and Leo tensed, jumped, and turned, to see Jason holding his helm and leaning against the wall, smirking victoriously.

Leo relaxed, and then returned the grin. "Nope, just some bro-sis bonding." He glanced at Jason's helm. "Did you win?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah. But you don't know how many times Annabeth called me Percy..." Piper glared at Jason, and Jason held his arms up in the _I surrender _position, dropping the helmet. "Hey, at least she didn't kiss me this time!"

Leo remembers that moment.

Piper got up from her seat and wrap an arm around Jason's shoulders. "Well, she still called you Percy."

Jason's grin faded away. "Yeah..."

Leo got up and patted his friend on the back. "Hey, if you need to talk to someone, we're here, okay?"

Jason cracked a smile. "And we'll be playing Blue Moon to relax us."

The trio laughed and stood in a comfortable silence for a few moments.

"The campfire's going now," Jason said. "And as much as I'd hate to, we have to go back."

Leo reached his hand in his tool belt, and summoned something. "You guys go ahead. I have to finish something."

"Okay. See you."

The door shut.

Leo pulled out a _Post It!_ and stuck it on the piano. He pulled out a pen, and then scrawled on: _Leo's stuff- don't touch._

Then he walked away in peace, all while whistling Blue Moon.


End file.
